Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has started her speech for the Union Budget 2024 soon, marking the first budget under the Modi 3.0 administration. Eyes are keenly focused on the Centre’s plans for the upcoming financial year, particularly regarding the allocation of GDP to the education sector.
As per her initial announcements, Sitharaman said that govt to allocate Rs 1.48 lakh cr for education sector, jobs and skill development sectors. More announcements are yet to come.
Meanwhile, as the nation is striving for greater digital literacy in pursuit of the ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision, industry experts are urging for enhanced investment in education. They emphasise that such investments are crucial to elevate India to the status of a developed nation by 2047, as articulated by Prime Minister Modi. Proposals include GST exemptions, ensuring equitable access to quality education, boosting investment in the nation’s talent pool, and improving digital infrastructure.
Ahead of the budget many are also anticipating higher investment of digital infrastructure to prepare the students well.
Ajay Singh, the principal of Scindia school in Madhya Pradesh, told Business Today, "Looking ahead to Budget 2024, we all aspire for increased funding allocated to initiatives directly benefiting students and the wider community. Our priorities encompass enhancing digital infrastructure to prepare students for the digital era, fostering vocational training and skill development programs, investing in teacher professional development and forging robust partnerships with local industries."
Meanwhile, the Economic Survey 2023-24 revealed downward trend in the sector. While expenditure on education in India has increased at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4 percent from FY18 to FY24, student performance has not kept pace, showing significant declines in performance for students studying class above 3rd grade.
Assessments such as the National Achievement Survey (NAS) highlight critical gaps in student learning, with significant decreases observed from NAS 2017 to NAS 2021. Among the most concerning are a 13.4 percent drop in Class 10 Mathematics scores and a 9.1 percent decrease in Social Science, along with declines in foundational literacy and mathematics among Class 3 students.
Interim Budget 2024
In the interim budget released in February, government allocated over Rs 73,000 crore to the Department of School Education and Literacy, representing the largest funding ever designated for this sector.
This allocation reflects an increase from the revised estimates of Rs 72,473.80 crore from the previous financial year and exceeds last year's budget of Rs 68,804.85 crore for the same department.
Additionally, funding for the PM SHRI initiative, which aims to transform government schools into model institutions, has been significantly increased from Rs 2,800 crore in the 2023-24 revised estimates to Rs 6,050 crore for the 2024-25 financial year, marking a remarkable rise of Rs 3,250 crore.